


The Toss of a Coin

by RoseThorn14



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And I probably will only kill a few characters off, Because screw character deaths, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, But some people will die, Cedric is not Champion, F/F, F/M, Give me a break, Good Slytherins, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Rivalry, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, I'm Australian, M/M, Mildly innacurate British insults, Polyamory is the solution to all my ship problems, She really just wants to manipulate people, Slytherin Champion, Slytherin Pride, Undercover smart character, but not really, idk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:03:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14633685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseThorn14/pseuds/RoseThorn14
Summary: It's funny how one small detail can completely change the lives of so many people.In Harry's 4th Year, it's not Cedric Diggory that's chosen, it's some Slytherin that has the whole school in an uproar. How will this girl and her mysterious friend affect the way the tournament plays out? And will Harry every figure out what's going on in Hogwarts?





	1. Potential Champions

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the various tumblr posts about Slytherin Champions and how they'd change the series. Takes place during Harry's 4th year and is and AU from there on out.

The laughter around the hall had just died down after the twins ran out with matching beards. Many of the student were still snickering and glancing at the doors they'd darted out of. 

As the morning went on, people continued to put their name in the Goblet. There were cheers from more than just the Durmstrang students when Krum walked up to it and a few of the Beauxbatons girls garnered cheers from their friends. 

Harry and Ron had just started to talk about the latest Quidditch team line-ups when the hall was filled by the cheers of Hufflepuff. Soon, they were joined by most of the Ravenclaws and even a few Gryffindors. Harry glanced at the centre of the room to find Cedric Diggory approaching the cup. He wore a crooked grin as he slipped his piece of paper into the goblet, which flared slightly as it consumed his name. 

Behind him, Harry picked up the tail end of a conversation between the Patil twins. 

"He's so going to be Hogwarts' Champion," Padma stated.

Parvati made an enthusiastic hum of agreement, which caused Harry to frown. He'd thought she'd be supporting Angelina to be champion - but then again, Cedric did seem like an obvious choice when he thought over his abilities, prefect status and general charisma. Harry was just about to turn to Ron to make a similar prediction when another voice got his attention.

"You're wrong," it sung teasingly at the Patil sisters. Harry glanced back at the pair to see a girl behind them shaking her head.

The girl was wearing black, thick-rimmed glasses that framed her large, dark brown eyes and her wavy black hair was tipped with bright emerald green. Her Slytherin tie hung slightly crooked as it tucked into her black jumper. The girl met the twins' glares with a wicked smirk. Harry thought he vaguely recognised her from some of his previous classes.

"Well, who do you think's going to be chosen, Slytherin?" Parvati sneered, spitting the last like word like it was an insult. To Harry, it would have been.

The girl didn’t take the bait. Her smile only widened as she inclined her head down towards the centre of the room. Immediately after, a round of rowdy cheers filled the war. Harry snapped his head around to find a girl crossing the age line. Her blond hair was so pale, it rivalled Malfoys and her neat but loose braid reached halfway down her back.

Harry glanced around to find that the cheers had come from a few of the Slytherins who were scattered around the Great Hall.

The girl nonchalantly dropped her paper into the fire before spinning around. Now that she'd turned, Harry could see that the girl's face was pale and narrow, with sharp features. He could also make out the green and sliver colours of her tie, the matching snake hair clip that was pinning her fringe back and her gleaming Prefect badge. The girl grinned widely and looked past Harry at the Slytherin behind him. Her smile was so infectious that Harry had to remind himself what house she was from before he returned it. 

The girl strode passed Harry without even sparing him a glance and sat down gracefully beside her housemate, throwing a friendly arm around her shoulders. The blonde quirked her eyebrow and locked eyes with her friend - a silent question that Harry couldn't interpret written on her face. In response, the brunette turned away from the blonde, breaking her grip on her shoulder.

"Oi! Blaise!" the girl yelled.

A few rows in front and about five metres to the left of her, Zabini shot his head around, breaking off his conversation with Theodore Nott. His annoyed scowl turned into a welcoming smile as he recognised who's called him.

"Yes, my Queen?" his overly posh tone was playful, not mocking. 

The girl tossed a handful of gold coins to him which he caught in one hand.

"Fifteen galleons for Astoria Greengrass as Hogwarts Champion," she told him.

Blaze grinned wickedly as he placed the coins in a small black pouch and pulled out a roll of parchment and quill seemingly from thin air. Around the room, Harry could make out small flashes of gold being passed between a handful of emerald donned students before they glanced at Greengrass with a grin. He scribbled on it before turning back to mime inclining a hat towards the girl.

"Anything for Miss Tonks."

The girl rolled her eyes but was grinning as she leaned into Greengrass's shoulder. She shot a mocking smirk at the Patil twins and sniggered when they huffed and spun away from her in response.

"So," Greengrass began, "who'll be my competitors, Lexi?"

The brunette leaned forward in her seat and cast a calculating gaze across the room.

"Krum's the obvious choice for Durmstrang - but you knew that already. I've talked to a few of the Beauxbatons students and it's hard to tell. There are about half a dozen who could probably make it. However, if I had to choose someone it'd be that girl over there - the blonde one who's part Veela-," at this, the girl inclined her head across the room, "her name's Fleur Delacour. She seemed to be the best fit."

Greengrass nodded and glanced at her companion, "What else is there?"

Tonks frowned contemplatively, "I don't know. Something else just feels off."

She swept her gaze over the students again and for a brief moment, her eyes locked with Harry's, since he still hadn't stopped gawking at them. Her eyebrows furrowed further and Harry whipped his head back towards where a few kids were shuffling nervously towards the cup.

He heard Greengrass snort behind him. "When does it not in this school?"

***

At the feast that night, Harry was picking through the strange French and Bulgarian food that the house elves had cooked for the second night in a row. The food wasn't as exciting now that he'd had it yesterday and most of the students were distracted by their anticipation to find out who would be their school champion. 

Harry sighed in relief when the food disappeared, ignoring Ron's small squeak of disappointment. Everyone turned their attention to the front of the room, where Dumbledore, Madam Maxine and Karkaroff were standing behind the Goblet of Fire. Out of habit, his gaze flicked to the Slytherin table as he turned to the front of the room. However, instead of Malfoy, his eyes found the pair of girls that were talking earlier. They were sitting next to each other and their contrasting features immediately drew his eyes. They shared a smirk and linked arms before gluing their eyes on the Goblet.

"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision, "said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated to the door behind the staff table - "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Harry could practically hear everyone shift in their sheets. 

"Any second," Lee Jordon muttered from a few seats down right before the flames in the cup sparked red.

It was no surprise when Viktor Krum's name flew out of it. Harry couldn't help pointing out to Ron when he recognised Fleur as the girl they'd thought was part Veela before. The room quickly turned quiet again as everyone waited for the Hogwarts Champion to be announced. The air was so filled with excitement, you could almost taste it. The Goblet's fire flared red and a paper flew out of it straight into Dumbledore's hand. 

"Astoria Greengrass."

The entire room was silent for one second. Then, abruptly, a cheer rose from the Slytherin table across the room from Harry. The other tables are quickly searched the rows of green and silver for the Hogwarts Champion. A few students begun expressing their complete outrage. 

People started murmuring, and then they were shouting. Everything was phrased slightly different, but the sentiment stayed the same. 'We can't have a Slytherin Champion!'

Some people, like Ron, could only express their feelings towards the situation with a strangled 'No!'

But not Harry.

Harry was staring directly across the room at where the two opposite girls sat. It was hard to tell with all the noise, but if you knew how to look, you could tell that much of the Slytherin celebration, which was trying valiantly to drown out insults hurled by the other students, was being directed at one, blond-haired girl who was currently sitting, rooted to her seat with her mouth hanging open. 

Tonks had thrown her arms around her friend and was shouting excitedly. However, she quickly composed herself, unwrapping her arms and speaking again. She gave Greengrass a delicate kiss on the cheek before gently pushing her off the bench and up to her feet. Across the room, Harry though he saw her mouth form the word 'Go'.

The protests quietened once the students could put a face to the name, although there were a few quiet grumblings. The Slytherins continued to cheer uproariously and their enthusiasm caused some Hufflepuffs and a handful Ravenclaws to join in, if reluctantly. 

The girl swiftly made her way out of the room and as the door closed behind her, he couldn't find it in him to be surprised. 

Harry's gaze turned back to the dark-haired girl, who still had a wide smile on her face. He barely registered Dumbledore speaking and he only caught the goblet flaming again and the accompanying scrap of paper in the corner of his eye. 

His mind didn't have time to comprehend the confusion of the situation, but he did notice Tonks' head turn violently to look him straight in the eyes just as the paper fluttered towards Dumbledore's hand. Her previous exhilaration was gone, replaced with wide eyes and then a knowing smirk. 

All of this happened within the span of the paper landing in Dumbledore's hand, him glancing at it, frowning and calling out the name 'Harry Potter.'


	2. Mysterious Strangers

Harry lay stock still in his bed. The Gryffindors had given him a hearty welcome when he got back. In fact, the only one who seemed slightly put out was Ron, who insisted that Harry should have included him in his plan to become Champion. However, a hit upside the head from both Hermione and the twins had him clamping up again. No one except Hermione seemed to believe that he didn’t put his name in though.

Harry sighed. That afternoon had been a blur. The other Champions hadn't exactly been welcoming of his presence.

Viktor had raised an eyebrow and asked, "What iz going on here?"

Fleur had asked a similar question, her voice higher than usual in confusion. 

Astoria had just crossed her arms and shook her head, saying, "Harry Potter? Why am I not surprised."

The rest of the meeting had been a whirl of questions and accusations. Now, Harry was just glad to be in bed. He didn't want to think about the morning.

\---

Harry glanced nervously around the hallways. Much to his surprise, the majority of the school was happy that his name had come out of the goblet. More than a few students had told them that he was the 'rightful champion' in their eyes. This came with the exception of the Slytherins, of course, and a few of the Hufflepuffs. Although, Harry heard that was only because one of them was Greengrass' sibling. They (the Slytherins, not the Hufflepuffs) would sneer at him in the hallways and hurl insults wherever possible. Some of them had even taken to wearing the 'Potter Stinks' badges that Malfoy had made.

Despite the general positive reception to his choosing, nobody dared say anything to the other Champion's face. Whispers would follow her in the halls and she was rarely left alone by her fellow housemates. Harry was the only one to notice that the other girl - Tonks - was always by her side. She made him nervous for some inexplicable reason. Harry tried to tell himself it was because of her predictions earlier, but he knew it had more to with the look she gave him right before his name was drawn. 

Harry stood in the shadow of a coat of armour with Hermione. He was avoiding Ron at the moment because even though he wasn't outright resentful, he was still being a tosser about Harry 'putting his name in'. Hermione and him had both noticed earlier that it was one of the few days when Greengrass was by herself. Harry didn't know where her friend was, but he was glad she wasn't with her as he checked the Marauders Map.

He knew he had to tell his fellow Champion about the dragons he saw last night, since all of the others already knew. However, he didn't want to risk his shaky standing in the castle by being seen consorting with a Slytherin, as the house had only become even more nasty and unpopular as a whole since the announcement of the champions.

Greengrass rounded the corner into their corridor and Harry leapt out of the shadows, pulling her into an empty classroom with the help of Hermione.

The girl's look of alarmed surprise was replaced with a sneer as her previous death grip on her wand loosened slightly. 

"Potter. Granger. What the bloody hell are you doing?" she snarled aggressively.

Harry took in a deep breath.

"Dragons. The first task is dragons."

Greengrass gaped at him.

"What?... How do you know?"

Harry opened his mouth to explain when the door to the classroom burst open.

"I figured out what the first task is!"

The figure moved in a blur, a flick of a wand had the slightly charred door with a smoking lock repairing itself and closing shut. 

"It's dragons!" the girl Harry now recognised as Greengrass' friend announced. Her eyes were wide and the satchel slung over her shoulder was overflowing with parchment and scrolls. "I told you something weird happened last night!"

Greengrass shot her friend a superior smirk. "I know."

The other girl have a strangled mule of confusion. In response, Greengrass inclined her head towards the people standing across from her. The girl turned her head, her eyes widening as she noticed Harry and Hermione for the first time. 

"You already knew?" she asked incredulously.

Before Harry could answer she cut him off with the shake of a head, "Of course you did. Stupid question. How?"

"Hagrid showed me them as they were coming in last night."

The girl nodded, but her eyebrows were still drawn. "Why did you decide to tell Astoria?"

Harry shrugged, "Hagrid brought Madam Maxine last night and Karkaroff was sneaking around, so Viktor and Fleur already know. It wouldn't be fair if you didn't."

The girl smiled brightly at that, her piercing gaze softening. 

"Fairness. I can respect that," she praised warmly and Harry felt himself blush lightly.

"Wait a minute," Hermione demanded. "How did you find out? And how'd you get in here? I put the anti-unlocking charm on the door so we wouldn't be disturbed."

The girl shrugged. "I saw scorch marks on the ground near the forbidden forest, so I followed them. They're keeping them under a bunch of disillusionment and silencing charms. I only spotted them cause one of the carers passed through them. As for the lock, Alohomora didn't work and I didn't have time to pick it, so I just blasted it."

At that, Greengrass laughed, "Of course you did."

She slightly grabbed her friend's arm and steered her towards the door. 

"Thank you, Potter. I owe you one. Granger."

With a nod of her head Greengrass left the classroom, her friend in tow. Harry realised he still didn't know her name. He wasn't even entirely sure Tonks was her last name.

"Who was she?" Hermione exclaimed.


	3. The First Task

Tonks hurried along the corridor with Astoria. As they journeyed towards the abandoned Charms classroom that had been dubbed the official Slytherin 'Snog Room' (she'd left an encrypted note outside the classroom telling everyone to bugger off and find their own secluded spot until the first task), she pulled out one of the many books she'd checked out of the library.

"Ok," she began. "So, from what I heard and saw, those dragons were pretty angry. Which is weird, cause a few spells should make them docile again."

By the time she'd finished that statement, the classroom door was closing behind them and she'd found the chapter she wanted in her book. 

"Now, there is a few reasons why that might be. They could be cranky from the move, but Harry said they came in last night, so the wizards should have had them under control by now. They could be giving them some substance to make them this agitated, but the wizard I saw was Romanian and they're dragon conservation institutions are some of the largest advocators for dragon rights. So, that means they're probably nesting mothers."

"Whoa. When did you become a dragon expert?" Astoria asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you know they are my favourite animal. But, I also had four hours between finding the dragons and meeting you to research."

Astoria grinned at her and patted Tonks on the head. 

"That's my girl. With that big brain of yours, why aren't you top of the class?"

Tonk rolled her eyes. 

"People wouldn't be nearly as easy to control if they knew how smart I really am."

It was Astoria's turn to roll her eyes.

"But other houses would listen to you if you got higher marks."

Tonks sneered as she shot back her response, "The other houses wouldn't give me the time of day - except for the Hufflepuffs. They think all us Slytherins are evil. They'd probably just accuse me of cheating." 

Astoria scowled and shook her head. "Not if I win this. Then you can smash everyone else in OWLS next year."

Tonks nodded and pulled out another two books from her bag and a page of notes. 

"Here. Look through these. They have some comprehensive chapters on dragon attacks and weaknesses. The page has a few spell suggestions for you to practice. There's still plenty of room for you to add your own. You're probably going to have to evade or sneak past the dragon so I've circled disillusionment charms."

Astoria pursed her lips on concentration.

"Ok. Let's do this."

\---

Tonks sat down in the row of stands, her legs jittered nervously and she didn't even notice who was sitting around her. She'd worn one of the 'Hogwarts for the Win!' badges that she'd made and handed out in Slytherin to combat the 'Potter Stinks' ones. It wouldn't do to have the Slytherin efforts focused on slandering another competitor instead of supporting their Champion, especially if the other competitor was from the same school. 

She was sitting next to Daphne, Astoria's sister from Tonks' year level, who had a huge banner folded in her lap that read 'Go Astoria!' in green and silver. The air was filled with cheering and the odd terrified grasp when a roar broke out. By now, everyone knew the first task was dragons.

"Pfft. Potter's so gonna die," a sneering voice leered from behind.

"Shove off, Malfoy," a rough voice that Tonks recognised to Harry's best friend - Weasley - growled from beside her. 

Tonks turned to her left to see Weasley and Granger sitting next to each other with Malfoy a row behind them.

"Oh, come on you don't really think he can survive this?" he retorted.

"That's enough, Draco," Tonks cut in, trying to stop a fight breaking out.

"Come off it. You wouldn't bet on Potter in a million years," the blonde git sneered back condescendingly. 

Tonks glared at him, her eyes flickering to where Granger sat next to her with Weasley. Granger was fiddling with her gloves and hadn’t said a word. She looked like she couldn't decide whether to be sick or cry. Something like empathy stabbed at Tonks' heart and made her turn her attention to the row in front of her where the Weasley twins were collecting bets from a couple of different students.

"Oi, Weasleys!" she called out as she reached into her pocket. 

They both spun to face her, eyes immediately squinting in distrust.

"What do you want?" one of them - George - she thought it was asked aggressively. 

"Five galleons for Potter to get first place," she told them as she leaned down to pass them her money.

Immediately, identical wide grins broke out on their faces as Fred (Or at least who she thought was Fred) accepted the money and George shook her hand.

"Deal!" they exclaimed.

Tonks twisted to shoot a sneer at Malfoy's gaping face before flicking a small smile at a slightly less nervous looking Granger. 

"Thank you," she murmured gratefully. "Er … what's your name?"

Tonks smiled at that. She'd spent the last few years trying to blend into the background and it was nice to know she'd been successful. She'd noticed very quickly in first year that most people stuck out for the wrong reason if they stuck out at all.

"Alexis Tonks," she told her with a friendly smile.

Hermione smiled back.

Weasley smirked slightly at her, nodding his head and saying, "I like your badge."

Tonks grinned in reply as the first dragon was lead into the ring.

"That was nice of you," Daphne muttered teasingly to her.

Alexis gasped and spat back, "You take that back."

Ludo Bagman cut off their interaction. 

"Today, our champions will be tasked with stealing a golden egg from the dragon's nest. Our first competitor will be Astoria Greengrass."

Alexis' eyes widened as she clutched the seat in front of her.

"That's practically suicide!" Daphne half-yelled in a strained voice.

Alexis gulped and blew a slow breath out.

"It's fine. She's facing a Swedish Short-Snout. Although agile, with insanely hot fire, they have relatively dull eyesight, so Astoria should be able to outsmart it."

Next thing Alexis knew, a cannon fired and Astoria was stepping out into the ring. 

The fight lasted a lot shorter than Alexis expected, but it's quickness made it no less worrying. Astoria cast a disillusionment charm on herself as soon as she stepped in the ring, giving the dragon no time to spot her. Then, she cast Avis, causing a flock of green sparrows to fly from her camouflaged wand and towards the dragon's head. This distraction worked for all of ten seconds before the dragon had either snapped up or burnt them all.

Alexis saw Astoria's chameleon like outline freeze, halfway through her journey around the outside of the ring towards the eggs. She felt her breath catch as the dragon swung its eyes over where she was standing, but the reptile soon looked back to her nest. 

For a few seconds, it seemed as if nothing was happening, but then, an egg slowly started to rise out of the dragon's nest. It was a real egg - Alexis was sure that they'd charmed the golden ones to not be affected by spells. Everyone - including the dragon - froze as the egg hovered in mid - air. It slowly moved around the ring and the dragon's head turned to follow it. Alexis could practically hear the gears in its head turning. The dragon battling with its instinctual need to protect its egg over not wanting to harm it by disturbing the mysterious force keeping it afloat.

As the egg started to gently land on the other side of the ring, Alexis saw the golden egg lift up out of the basket. Once she'd cancelled her levitation spell, Astoria cast another disillusionment charm on the golden egg, making it disappear just like her. She backed away from the basket just as the dragon decided to approach her egg to get it back towards her nest. 

Astoria was halfway back to entrance when she accidentally kicked a rock. In the blink of an eye, the dragon's head swung around and it shot a torrent of bright blue fire at the side of the ring. Gasps filled the stadium and Daphne and Alexis gave out twin shouts of distress. Alexis slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the whimper that rose in her chest. She, like most of the spectators jumped up in her shock.

The smoke cleared to reveal Astoria alive and well. Her robes were singed and slightly torn from where she'd obviously dove out of the way. However, the egg was clutched tightly under arm and she'd successfully made her way to the entrance. Deafening cheers echoed around the stadium as dragon tamers streamed into the arena shooting stunning spells at the aggravated dragon. 

Astoria was lead into the tent by Madam Pomfrey and Alexis' eyes followed her out. Alexis barely payed attention to the other champions as they competed, even Potter, who performed death-defying feats on his broom only gleaned the slightest interest from her. As soon as he was lead into the tent, Alexis shot out of her seat to make her way towards Astoria. From the sound of footsteps behind her, Daphne, Granger and Weasley weren't far behind. 

Alexis flung her arms around Astoria, who was sitting on a portable bed. Daphne and Astoria's younger brother, Rory, chattered excitedly. There were two more Greengrass siblings, both already graduated. Rena had been in Ravenclaw and Chris, the eldest, had been in Gryffindor. They had both complained in letters that they wouldn't be allowed to come and watch till the third trial.

Alexis scowled when Astoria received her scores, Karkaroff had given her an unimpressive 3 for her efforts. She'd been even more unhappy when she'd heard Krum and Potter were winning. Potter she understood, but Krum? He nearly destroyed the whole nest!

Her bad mood abated a little as they returned to the castle. It was getting dark, but students were still streaming around, excited at both their champions' success. Every few seconds a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw would come up to Astoria to congratulate her. Most of the Gryffindors and Slytherins were noticeably missing - no doubt preparing parties for their respective champions.

Astoria and Alexis wondered around for a little while, talking and taking turns holding the egg. The miniature Swedish Short-snout alternated between flying around them and sitting on their shoulders, occasionally blowing blue fire that only stung slightly when it touched their skin. They were just about to head back to the Common Room - Alexis having judged that her house had had sufficient time to set up the party - when they were approached by distinctive ginger twins, trays of food floating behind them, no doubt for the Gryffindor party.

"Hi girls," they greeted simultaneously.

"We just want to say congratulations to one of our school champions on a fine performance today," Fred (or was it George?) praised with a grin.

"Yeah, we made heaps of money off of you. Practically none of the Gryffindors expected you'd go so well," the other added.

"Speaking of money - "

George pulled out a not unimpressive crimson pouch and handed it to you.

"Here's your winnings Miss…?"

"Tonks." Alexis supplied as she took the bag.

"Well, Miss Tonks, pleasure doing business with you," Fred told her and with that, they both departed.

Astoria raised her eyebrow at the bag of money. Alexis' eyes widened and she held her hands up.

"I can explain."


	4. Celebrations and Announcements

Deafening cheers started up as soon as they entered the common room. People crowded around them chanting Astoria's name and throwing excited congratulations her way. The egg was passed around the cohort and spiked drinks were distributed. So, all in all, it was a pretty typical party for the Slytherins.

About two hours in, when almost everyone was at least a little tipsy, a chant of 'Open the Egg!' started up until Astoria was pushed up onto a table and the egg was thrust into her arms. With a sweep of her arm, the chant silenced. She reached up to unclasp the egg only for a deafening screeching sound to explode out of it. Everyone immediately covered their ears and a few seconds later, Astoria slammed the egg closed.

The common room was silent for a full ten seconds after the sound cut off. 

It was broken by Blaise who called up to Astoria, "Well, good luck figuring that one out."

Chuckles echoed around the room and the nearest 6th year boy held out his arm to help Astoria jump down. She landed beside Alexis, who was frowning at the egg, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"That was weird," Astoria announced to her as the party gained momentum again around them. Someone had managed to charm a record player and it was now playing the latest Weird Sisters album.

"Yeah…" Alexis agreed, eyes still trained on the egg.

Astoria sighed, "Go on. Spit it out."

Alexis bit her lip. "It's just, I could have sworn I've heard that sound before."

Astoria frowned and nodded. "I know. It does sound vaguely familiar."

Their conversation was interrupted by Daphne grabbing one of each of their arms and pulling them towards the dance floor. 

"Come on!" she commanded, putting the egg on a nearby seat. "Dance! Have a little fun. Both of you have been couped up for the past two days practicing."

Another three tiring hours later, Astoria and Alexis were curled up together on a deep green loveseat that they'd pushed in front of the fire. They were the last ones in the common room and some house elves had brought them both hot chocolate a few minutes ago and a small bowl of marshmallows to dip in and roast on the fire.

"I don't think Potter put his name in," Alexis murmured tiredly.

"Me neither," Astoria agreed. 

"Someone's definitely trying to mess with him."

Astoria nodded slightly. "He's going to get himself killed if he keeps trying to do the fair and honourable thing."

Alexis pursed her lips and thought for a few seconds before answering, "Then maybe he needs a couple of smarter, more cunning people looking after him."

Astoria hesitated as she thought over the suggestion. 

"I agree. If someone's going to this much trouble to hurt him, he needs someone protecting him."

Alexis hummed sleepily in agreement and leaned her head in the crook of Astoria's neck.

\---

Harry and Ron shot spells at the Blast-Ended Skrewt they were trying to wrangle. The stunning spells they'd tried didn't seem to have much effect, but they did distract the Skrewts enough for Hermione to magically slip a rope around their bodies and stingers. Harry and Ron would then dive on the creatures and tighten the restraints. Between them, they'd restrained three of the Skrewts, with only slightly singed robes and small cut on Ron's leg to show for it.

"Well, well, well… this does look fun," Rita Skeeter's piercing voice distracted Ron and Harry from assisting Hagrid in tying up the last one.

As she introduced herself, the others wondered closer, having dealt with the other Skrewts and the one that had escaped during Skeeter's distraction. 

Harry vehemently agreed with her question asking whether Care of Magical Creatures was one of his favourite classes, earning a beam from Hagrid. 

"Really lovely," Rita was saying. "Been teaching long?"

Harry noticed her eyes drift to the other students and he frowned as he, too looked at them. Dean (who had a cut on his cheek, Lavender (who's robes were badly singed) and Seamus (who was nursing several burnt fingers) had caught two Skrewts amongst them. Hagrid had caught three, meaning the last student (and only Slytherin) who didn't run for the safety of the hut must have caught the other two. 

His eyes turned to Alexis Tonks (whose name Hermione had informed him of), who had somehow managed to restrain two Blast-Ended Skrewts by herself. Despite that, she looked the most put together. The only hint that she'd been fighting the creatures was her messy hair (which was now dyed a pale blue instead of green at the tips) and crooked tie.

Harry frowned as Rita asked for an interview about Hagrid's mysterious creatures. He wasn't sure if they were entirely legal and having them featured in the paper (especially by Skeeter) couldn't be a good thing.

Apparently someone else thought so as well.

"Excuse me, Miss Skeeter," Alexis Tonks started, having neatened her hair by tying it up in a bun. "But I think that interviewing Professor Hagrid about the Skrewts is a waste of time."

Harry shot a glare at her, opening his mouth to defend Hagrid. And since when did anyone ever call him Professor?

"Why is that, my darling?" Rita asked with an evil smile, her quill slipping out of the bag on her shoulder.

"Well, it's just that the Professor knows so much about so many animals. I'm sure it would be more valuable to interview him about some other magical creature. Professor Hagrid knows a lot about dragons and unicorns. I'm sure he could give valuable accounts of both of them. Although, I particularly enjoyed his classes on Hippogriffs last year."

There were a few beats of silence as everyone stared at Alexis, shocked. 

"Oh - um, yes," Hagrid stammered gruffly. "I do know a lot about those creatures."

Skeeter still stared wide-eyed at the girl.

"Very well," she eventually agreed. "Shall I come by your - er - hut on Wednesday this week?"

"Oh," Alexis continued quickly, excitement colouring her voice. "Please let me sit in and listen as well. I do love hearing about magical creatures. Especially from Professor Hagrid. I'm sure Hermione here would love to come as well."

"Er - sure. I'll send you all the times," Hagrid replied, obviously still shocked.

Rita Skeeter walked away and the period ended shortly after, the Skrewts put safely in their boxes, still restrained. The others in the class tentatively crept out of the hut to head back up to the castle.

"Oi," Ron called to Tonks as she packed her bag. "What was all that about?"

Harry and Hermione, like several of the other Gryffindors drifted closer, curious about the answer.

Tonks straightened up, rolling her eyes at him. 

"That Skeeter woman sounded like she was trying to stir up trouble and we all know that the Skrewts are legally questionable, so they definitely wouldn't have made Hagrid look good, no matter what he said. Also, she's really good at twisting words so I volunteered Hermione to sit in during the interview since you three are the closest to him and she's the smartest of you, so she can do damage control."

Ron gaped as she stepped past him. 

"What about you?" Hermione asked. "Aren't you going?"

Tonks looked back at her and shrugged. "Probably not. I'd most likely just make Professor Hagrid nervous and the energy awkward, since you guys don’t really know me. I just asked to go because it would be weird if I only volunteered Hermione to go. I'll just say Professor Snape gave me detention or something."

With that, she left, leaving an amazed Hermione, Ron and Harry in her wake.

\---

Alexis shoved her potions book into her bag, quickly scribbling down her homework in her diary. She'd just had a rather enjoyable class, successfully brewing a girding potion well enough to glean a praise from Professor Snape and five points for Slytherin, her first house points in potions since first year.

She was about to slip out of her chair when Snape slammed a book on his desk. 

"Silence," he declared. Immediately, all noise stopped. Alexis thought not even the mice she was sure were lurking around would make a peep.

"As the head of your house, it is my duty to inform you that the Yule Ball will be taking place on Christmas Night this year. It is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and is an opportunity for us to socialise with the other schools. The ball is only open to fourth years and above, although you may invite a younger student if you wish."

Immediately a murmur rose amongst the students as they looked at each other excitedly. Daphne's head shot up and she hummed in interest from the seat beside Alexis.

"Now, I'm sure I don't need to inform you that I shall be seriously displeased if a Slytherin embarrasses the school. So, by all means have fun, or whatever it is you intend to do, but stay in line or I will personally see to it that the rest of your Christmas break is not enjoyable. At all."

Everyone in the class nodded. 

\---

Alexis sat in her little corner of the library. There were only two four-seat circular tables and a plush couch in the small opening in the back corner of the library. The lanterns were low, but just bright enough to comfortably read books from any point in the space. The area was almost impossible to find in the maze of bookshelves, as its opening was hidden by a glamour next to a shelf of rock encyclopedias. Alexis had accidentally found it earlier that year when trying to search for spells to neutralise dragon fire (there weren't any) and had been using it as a private study area ever since.

Over the past few days, Hogwarts had undergone drastic change. Alexis was pretty sure there had never been a Christmas break with so many people signing up to stay at Hogwarts. Alexis, herself, had recently sent an apologetic letter to Aunt Andromeda. She'd always spent Christmas with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin, Nymphadora. She'd lived with them ever since Bellatrix Lestrange (who was another Aunt of hers) had killed her parents and tortured the Longbottoms to insanity. 

Currently, she was studying for the Antidote test she would have in potions tomorrow. The library was relatively empty. Most people were spending the afternoon before the end of term with their friends. Alexis, however, had promised Astoria that if she'd gotten chosen for the Tournament, she would try and ace every test she was given this year. The only other person within hearing distance of her was Granger, who was also studying. 

That was how it had been most afternoons that term. Granger and her shared the little secluded nook of the library. They never talked to each other, except on the rare occasion Alexis had a question for Hermione or vice versa (which was even rarer than the former event). It was an unspoken rule that neither of them would bring their respective best friends. If Alexis wanted to study with Astoria or Daphne, she would find another part of the library and Granger would do the same if Harry and Ron needed her help with work.

Just as she was starting to pack up, someone else entered their part of the library. Viktor Krum was the only other person that came into this area. He would sometimes read silently, but would more often talk quietly to Granger. He even included Alexis in the conversations most of the time. 

Viktor looked around the small area, shooting a small smile and a wave at Astoria, before focusing on Granger. He walked around the tables to stand next to her. 

When Hermione glanced up from her book, a smile broke onto her face.

"Oh. Hi Viktor!" she greeted him cheerfully.

Viktor shuffled his feet nervously and looked down. It was the most uncomfortable Alexis had ever seen him look.

"Her - Hermy-own," he stuttered out, completely butchering her name as per usual (though, not because of lack of trying), "would you go to the ball with me?"

Hermione was silent, clearly startled. Her eyes widened and a small blush rose up in her cheeks.

"Oh - of course, Viktor," she eventually replied, standing up.

A delighted grin broke across his face and he pulled Hermione into a hug.

"Thank you," he told her brightly before turning and walking out of the studying area, throwing another smile and a wave at Alexis as he left.

Granger was smiling when Alexis looked back at her. Her cheeks were still red and she was yet to sit back down. 

Alexis, who had finished pushing her books into her satchel, stood up to leave.

"Congratulations, Granger. He's a catch."

Hermione's blush deepened.

"Please don’t tell anyone," she asked quietly.

"Of course, I won't," Alexis scoffed. "It's your business."

She paused and then amended, "Okay, I'll tell Astoria, but no one else. I promise."

Hermione frowned slightly, but nodded.

Alexis took a few steps towards the exit.

"Have you got a partner?" Granger asked.

Alexis' face became hot as she shook her head.

"No. Not yet." But she knew who she wanted to take.

"Later, Granger."

"Bye, Tonks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess in the comments who you think Alexis will go with before you read the next chapter!


	5. The Yule Ball

As soon as she stepped out of the library, Alexis was grabbed and pulled into a dimly lit corridor.

She gasped, but calmed when she came face to face with Astoria.

"Oh, it's you," she sighed in relief.

Astoria smiled. She still hadn't let go of the hand she'd grabbed and she was standing very close to Alexis.

"Who else would it be?" she teased lightly.

Alexis giggled nervously.

"What do you want to say that you couldn’t in the hallway?"

Astoria took a deep breath at that question. She took Alexis' other hand and looked straight into her eyes.

"I know we haven't been very open about our relationship," she told Alexis slowly and quietly. "But, we've been dating since the summer and I think it's time other people should know. So, with that, I would like to ask you a question."

Alexis' heart quickened in anticipation.

"Would you go to the ball with me?"

A delighted smile broke onto Alexis' face.

"Of course," she replied without missing a beat.

Astoria grinned at her and bent down to press a happy kiss to her lips.

"Sorry it took so long," she apologised when they broke apart. "I wanted to ask Professor Dumbledore before I ploughed ahead with it."

"And?" Alexis asked.

Astoria shrugged. "He was fine with it. In fact, he insisted that I go with you."

Alexis nodded and stood on her tiptoes to press another kiss to Astoria's lips. This one was longer than the last. Their soft lips pressed together as Astoria moved one hand to Alexis face and in turn, Alexis slipped a hand into her hair. They pulled away, breathing slightly quicker than before. Both of their cheeks were tinged pink. Astoria slipped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulder.

"C'mon, Lexi. Let's go get some dinner. I know you've been studying for that potions test all afternoon."

\---

The next day, Alexis found herself talking to Cedric and Fleur. She had talked to Fleur a bit since she arrived at Hogwarts, even before she got chosen and Cedric had always been cordial to her, but had spoken to her more often since they'd both intervened at the same time when some older kids were teasing Rory Greengrass about being the brother of the 'failed champion'. 

"So," Fleur asked. "Do either of you have dates for the ball?"

Cedric nodded. "I'm taking Cho Chang."

Alexis nodded as well but avoided answering, "Do you?"

"Yes, his name is Roger Davies."

"The Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain?" Alexis clarified.

"Yes."

"Cool," Cedric said. "He's a nice guy. Easily distracted though."

Fleur shrugged. "He was the first boy who asked and I figured I may as well since I didn’t want to go with any of the boys from my school and don’t really know anyone else."

"That makes sense," Cedric replied.

Fleur smirked and looked back at Alexis. "Now, my friend. Don't think you could distract me. Who is the lucky person?"

Alexis shrugged and felt a blush rising up in her cheeks.

"Yeah," Cedric agreed. "I want to know who managed to charm the mysterious Alexis Tonks."

Alexis looked down at her feet and mumbled out the answer.

"You know we didn't hear that," Fleur laughed as she leaned closer to Alexis. Cedric did the same.

"Astoria and I are going to the ball together," Alexis murmured, just loud enough for them to hear.

They were both silent for a few moments and Alexis cringed inwardly to herself. This was what she was afraid of.

Then, out of nowhere, Fleur exclaimed, "Ha!"

Alexis' head shot up to find Fleur grinning madly and Cedric smiling calmly.

"I knew it! Viktor owes me five galleons," Fleur proclaimed.

"You two do make a cute couple," Cedric added.

"Wait, people know?" Alexis asked, eyes widening.

Cedric shook his head. "There have been guesses, and only since everyone found out about the ball."

Alexis nodded and then turned to Fleur.

"So, I heard that your Veela powers have the boys falling at your feet."

Fleur rolled her eyes. "It's ridiculous. I can hardly walk twenty metres without having someone stare at me."

Alexis nodded sympathetically.

"I can't even control it," she admitted, her French accent becoming even thicker with her irritation. 

"I'm only a quarter Veela and the charm only ever turns on when I'm really excited… like right now," she added lamely as a student approached them.

A student Alexis instantly recognised as Ron Weasley shuffled up to them. His face was pale as he opened his mouth, eyes trained solely on Fleur.

"Will you go to the ball with me?" he blurted out.

Fleur was silent for a few seconds, staring at him, nonplussed. Then, she opened her mouth to answer but Weasley ran away before she could get a word out, his face as red as his hair. A few of the students in the Entrance Hall laughed as he hurried to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Alexis snorted as Fleur sighed.

"They only want to go with me because I am pretty," she complained.

"At least Roger called me brave and outgoing before he asked me."

Alexis laughed lightly and nodded, "That's definitely the key to a woman's heart - complimenting her personality."

"I'll take note of that," Cedric quipped, causing Fleur's scowl to turn into a grin. 

\---

Later that evening, Alexis was curled up on the couch in her little area in the library. She was re-reading Pride and Prejudice for what would have been the hundredth time. Her trustworthy cat, Safiya was curled up around her feet. She was currently in the form of a black panther. They had continued inter-species transfiguration and her cat had refused to be transfigured back to her usual small, black body. Alexis knew she'd eventually be forced to transfigure her back, but, in the meantime, she would milk it for as long as she could.

Alexis sighed deeply and Safiya moved her head to rest on her knee, her bright green eyes looking up at her owners' concernedly. Alexis smiled thinly and patted Safiya on the head gently. The cat huffed, not liking seeing her owner in such distress. 

Alexis spirits had dampened ever since she'd left the dining hall. She'd run into Professor Moody on the way out, only to have him growl aggressively at her to watch where she was going. Alexis had been somewhat confused when Mad Eye didn't seem to recognise her when he'd arrived at school. He'd been like a weird uncle as she was growing up and they'd gotten closer over the past few years since he'd become Nym's mentor. 

In her first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, she'd sat in the front row, instead of in the back like she usually did. However, Moody hadn't acknowledged her. She'd written to Dori about it, but she'd just said he probably didn't want to treat her any differently than the other students. It had troubled her further when he hadn't talked to her as the term went on and when he'd started using the Imperius curse on them. She'd never known him to be willingly subject a child to harm. 

However, she hadn't said anything further to anyone about it. Aunt Andromeda had said his mental state had seemed to deteriorate over the Summer and Alexis supposed he'd just forgotten about her. She'd spent years at Hogwarts ensuring her classmates overlooked her, she supposed it was easy for others to do it too. As for the Unforgivable, the state of the world must have been worse than Alexis suspected. Moody was paranoid, but usually right.

On the other hand, she had been delighted at Cedric and Fleur's reactions to her and Astoria. Most wizards were open to same-sex relationships, but there were always a few who were prejudice.

Alexis had just finished reading Darcy's confession letter to Elizabeth when Granger burst into the area. She strode across the room and violently threw herself onto the couch beside Alexis, not even sparing Safiya a glance. Alexis stared at her with wide eyes, startled. Granger huffed, her arms crossed. Alexis carefully closed her book.

"What happened?" Alexis asked, still surprised.

"Boys are assholes," Granger spat out.

Alexis nodded sagely. "Yes they are."

"Is it really so surprising that someone would ask me to the ball?"

"Well," Alexis replied. "It wasn't really a surprise to me that Krum asked you out. You're the only one who treats him like an actual human being. Plus, you're super smart and nice. And you're pretty. So, no."

Granger's mouth fell open and it was her turn to stare.

"What?" Alexis grunted.

"I wasn't expecting you to say that."

Alexis shrugged. "No point in lying."

Granger shook her head. "I'm starting to think a Slytherin is a better friend than those two."

Alexis chose to ignore the first half of the sentence, seeing as Granger was obviously distressed.

"What happened?" she repeated her first question.

Granger recounted what had just happened in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Wow," Alexis said once she'd finished.

"I know. I can't believe him.. You are a girl," her voice became high and nasally when she imitated Ron.

Alexis snorted. "Boys are dumb."

Granger nodded and huffed again.

\---

Christmas day came along quickly. Alexis spent almost all of the days leading up to it with Astoria. They alternated between trying to figure out the egg, doing homework and hanging out with their friends.

Alexis woke abruptly on Christmas day to find Astoria and Daphne on either side of her, both poking her in the ribs.

"You're awake!" Astoria observed brightly once she'd jolted into a sitting position.

"C'mon! It's Christmas! Up! Up! Up!" Daphne shouted.

A groan came from one of the beds and a pillow was launched at them from another.

"Ugh. Shut up," Pansy groaned from her bed. "I need sleep, so I don't look like a racoon tonight."

"Grab your presents and meet us in the Common Room," Daphne ordered, already gathering her own presents in her arms.

Alexis got out of bed and did as she was told. Unlike Daphne, Alexis had the good sense to pull out her wand and levitate her presents. She squinted blearily when the light from the hall assaulted her eyes. She found the Common Room the most empty it had been since the start of the holidays. There were only a few early risers who had made their way down and they were littered around the room in small clusters. 

Alexis followed Daphne to a spot on the rug where a small, first year boy was wrapped in a yellow and black scarf.

"Hey Rory," Alexis greeted. "How did a first year manage to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room?"

Rory blushed slightly, "Astoria let me in."

Alexis laughed and ruffled his hair. "So you charmed your way in."

Astoria joined them dropping her share of presents down as she sat cross-legged on the plush green rug. 

"Okay," she declared. "Let's get started."

Alexis unwrapped her presents to find a collection of Shakespeare's novels from Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Ted and a diary from Dori, which only showed its contents to her and transmitted its messages to another diary that Dori had in her possession so they could talk whenever they wanted without having to wait for an owl to deliver the letter. She also received a range of magical confections from Daphne, a cute green beanie from Rory (the rest of the Greengrasses had supplied her dress and accessories for the Ball, which was more than enough of a gift), a jar of her favourite tea from the muggle couple that owns the book shop she'd been working at every summer since she was 10 and a pair of compact escrima sticks from her self-defence instructor, who was her favourite cousin on her Uncle's side. 

Her favourite present was from Astoria, who gave Alexis the miniature Swedish Short-Snout she'd gotten from the first trial and a tube of eyeliner that would never run out or smudge and changed colour to whatever she wanted. 

Daphne had given a delighted squeal at her assortment of muggle sweets (they had a mutual sugary gift arrangement), Rory had appreciated his never ending ink pot and Astoria had loved the moving silver and green snake jewellery piece that switched between a ring, bracelet and choker and matched her hair pin, which currently slithering through her hair. The pin and jewellery both had the unique ability to change colour to perfectly match the outfit the user was wearing. Alexis had given Astoria the pin back when Astoria first left for Hogwarts. 

After presents, the group munched on some food that a couple of house elves had brought down. 

The Greengrasses and Alexis spent the rest of the day together until almost four hours before the start of the ball. Daphne and Astoria dragged Alexis back up to the dorm rooms, where most of the girls from Slytherin were already getting ready.

"We don't really need this long, do we?" Alexis asked just before her and Astoria parted ways.

"You know we do," Daphne replied before bouncing into their room.

Astoria grinned. 

"Meet you in the entrance hall."

\---

Hermione stood nervously outside the entrance to the Great Hall. 

Everyone was staring at her as they entered the ball. The only person who didn't seem surprised was Viktor, who smiled adoringly at Hermione when he saw her and was now murmuring quietly to her. Hermione checked the clock. There were ten minutes left before the ball started and both Harry and Parvati were yet to arrive as well as Astoria's date. Not to mention, Hermione hadn't seen Ron either. 

Hermione glanced at Astoria. She looked like the perfect image of a Slytherin Champion dressed in a deep emerald green dress that fit well to her body. It had sparkly silver detailing up the bodice and a silver snake curling up the spine of her otherwise open back, attached to the dress by thin silver chains. The heals of her black shoes were made of curling silver snakes, a silver and green snake choker was attached to her neck, the head threaded through a loop in the tail and a matching hair pin slithered around her hair, which was tied up in a simple, glossy bun. 

Astoria seemed perfectly at ease with the fact that her partner hadn't arrived yet. Deftly, Hermione wished she could be that at ease with anything. 

Hermione smiled as Parvati and Harry approached, Parvati looking radiant in her pink Sari. Something small inside her was satisfied at their shocked expressions. People were starting to stream into the hall. Hermione's satisfaction grew when the 4th year Slytherins passed. Not even Malfoy had anything negative to say.

Hermione's eyes widened when she recognised the form of Tonks walking towards her. She was grinning at Hermione and leaned closer as she passed.

"Looking good, Granger," she complimented. It was really Tonks who deserved that assessment. She was wearing a dark purple gown with a light, feathery hem and jewelled silver detailing in the form of branches that climbed out and formed silver, off-the-shoulder sleaves around the tops of her arms. The heels on her black shoes were made of silver vines dotted with deep purple flowers. Her necklace was a silver rose vine and her earrings, bracelets and head necklace matched. 

Hermione smiled, but quickly drew her eyebrows together as Tonks joined the Champions and their partners. She almost didn't notice when Ron passed her without so much as a glance. 

Astoria slung an arm around Tonks, pulling her in close. Hermione's eyes widened as she placed a kiss in the shorter girl's cheek. 

"Oh!" she exclaimed quietly as she realised. She seemed to figure it out just as everyone else did. She wasn't the only one they were staring at now. Although, she did notice the Slytherins not treating them any differently.

The next thing Hermione knew, Professor McGonagall was standing in front of them, ordering them into their lines. 

"Come on now," she commanded. "Line up in the order your names were drawn out."

That meant Hermione was standing up the front with Viktor. McGonagall nodded and disappeared back into the hall. Hermione took a shaky breath, butterflies dancing in her stomach. Beside her, Viktor squeezed her hand, giving her a reassuring smile.

Then, the doors opened.

\---

Alexis felt her stomach churning as she walked up to the big, round table at the top of the Hall. 

She could feel people's eyes follow her across the room. She itched to tug at her hair nervously, but knew she couldn’t touch it for the rest of the night. Daphne would kill her. 

Her hair was curled to form loose ringlets down her back, the tips of her hair matching her deep purple dress. A few strands on either side of her face had been pulled back and pinned off her face in thin plaits. Finally, a chain hung so that a purple and silver rose rested in the middle of her forehead. It had taken almost half an hour for them to figure out how to pin it properly. Uncle Ted usually helped her put on any difficult Sri Lankan clothes.

Beside her, Astoria squeezed her hand comfortingly as they stepped up to the table to take a seat. 

Fleur was on her other side whilst Astoria was sat next to Potter's date, Parvati.

Dinner went over well. Alexis managed to avoid conversation with any actual adults by ensuring she was always talking to one of the other students. She talked with Fleur most of the time. Although, Granger and Viktor did contribute to their conversation whenever they could tear themselves away from gabbing with each other. 

The first dance turned out as perfect as Alexis hoped. Her heart had jumped to her throat as soon as the Weird Sisters started walking on stage, but as soon as her and Astoria started dancing, (a talent Astoria had been taught from a young age and one that Alexis had received a crash course in over the summer after Uncle Ted caught wind of the Tournament) all her worries flew out the window.

Alexis decided then that she just wouldn’t care. She had spent most of her Hogwarts life trying to blend in, since she definitely wasn’t the typical Slytherin student and it wasn't exactly safe to be different in that house, especially in the political turmoil of recent years. People still stared. But Alexis didn't let it make her anxious. She just focused on Astoria and danced the night away.

At one point, when Astoria was having a break and had gone to sit with her friends and Alexis was bobbing cheerily with Daphne, she was stormed into by a very angry looking Hermione Granger. Her face was red and her eyes were watery.

Alexis was so startled she didn’t manage to snap out the obligatory Slytherin 'Watch it!'.

In fact, all she could manage was, "Are you okay?"

Granger's mouth dropped open for a second before she shut it. Then she hesitated, as if mulling over options and then gave a single shake of the head. Alexis froze, unsure of what to do.

"Alright," she said slowly. "Umm, do you want to talk about ?"

Another hesitation, then Granger shrugged, tears threatening to spill over.

Alexis nodded quickly. 

"Okay," she said, allowing her instincts to take over as she clapped Granger on the shoulders. "Why don't we go take a breath of fresh air."

She turned to Daphne, who was very obviously already scanning the crowd for her date.

"I'll see you later," Alexis told her. "If Astoria asks, tell her where I've gone."

Daphne nodded and Alexis steered Granger outside and sat her on a bench. 

"Now spill."

And Granger did. A rushed rant poured out of her, about insufferable red heads and jealousy.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you about it. If he saw me with you, he'd definitely think you were trying to get secrets," she finished, wiping her eyes, which had shed a few tears.

Alexis nodded sagely at this. "Boys, am I right? Like I said - they're all idiots."

She patted Granger on the back and then pulled out her want and fixed the makeup that had smudged on her face with a little spell Astoria's older sister had taught her. As she put her wand away, another person entered they’re little clearing in the gardens. It was Viktor. A smile lit up his features when he spotted them.

Alexis smirked, then leaned in and whispered in Granger's ear, "Well, maybe not all boys."

"Herm-own-ninny! I was looking for you," Viktor exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

Granger grinned at him. "I'm fine. I just got a bit overwhelmed with all the hot air."

She stood up, but turned back before leaving. 

"Thank you, Alexis," she said sincerely.

Alexis's eyebrows rose, before she smiled back warmly. "No worries, Hermione."

They nodded at each other and went their separate ways.

\---

Alexis and Astoria sat in the common room. Daphne was on the couch opposite them.

It was 12:30 and most of the students were lounging around, delaying going to bed.

Someone on the other side of the room shot green sparks up at the ceiling, causing it to suddenly become transparent, revealing the dark waters of the lake above them. As usual, the mermaids swam up to the glass, waving familiarly at the students. Apparently, when this quirk had been installed by one of the previous heads of house, the mermaids had been violent, screaming at the students. However, now, they were friendly towards the Slytherins, some of them even having conversations through sign language. 

Alexis thought about the story. It's a shame, we can't talk to them at the top of the lake. She thought. Their voices are unbearable out of water.

Wait. Their voices. That's it!

Suddenly, Alexis shot up to her feet.

"What's wrong?" her girlfriend asked.

"I figured it out!" Alexis proclaimed hurrying over to a corner and grabbing the egg from where it sat in a chair.

"C'mon!" she commanded, pulling Astoria to her feet. "We need to go to the prefect bathrooms!"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "This is hardly the time, Tonks."

Alexis rolled her eyes but didn't bother answering as she pulled her girlfriend out of the room.

She had an egg to crack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it?


	6. The Second Task

The day after the ball, Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting in the Great Hall eating lunch. There were only a few students at the Gryffindor table as most had just nicked down to the kitchens for a late breakfast or were still sleeping.

Suddenly, Harry saw two girls in green and silver striding towards him. They both sat in the chairs opposite the trio with an intimidating synchronisation.

Harry narrowed his eyes, "What do you want, Greengrass?… Tonks?"

He included Greengrass' friend (or girlfriend, he guessed), since he was pretty sure she would be an active participant in the conversation, unlike Malfoy's henchmen, whom he didn’t even bother looking at anymore.

"Good morning to you too," Tonks bit back sarcastically.

"Technically, it's afternoon," Hermione replied, although her comeback wasn't as scathing as Harry had anticipated it to be. It was more of a friendly reminder. 

"Semantics," Tonks shot back. Harry almost thought he caught the trace of a smile.

Greengrass rolled her eyes. "We want to tell you something. It's about the egg."

"What?" Ron sneered. "Coming to beg for help?"

"No, Weasley. You dolt," Tonks snapped.

Greengrass sighed. "The task has something to do with mermaids. Open the egg underwater and the screaming turns to English."

Harry sat there for a moment, shocked.

"Why did you tell me?" he asked incredulously.

Greengrass levelled a serious gaze at him.

"I had a debt to settle and we Slytherins always pay our debts."

With that, she got up and turned away. Tonks paused a second longer to give a warm nod to Hermione, which Harry was almost certain was returned, before following. 

\---

The next few months were a blur for Harry. Between trying to figure out the egg's riddle and Hagrid's debacle with Skeeter's article about his heritage, he barely had time to think about anything else. 

He didn't hear or see much of the other Hogwarts Champion or her girlfriend. The most he'd thought about them was when Dean had told him that Tonks had stormed into the Great Hall and yelled at Malfoy for his statement about Hagrid featured in Skeeter's article. He'd also sometimes seen her lurking around the lake and near Hagrid's hut, but he didn't really think much about it.

He didn’t even give Greengrass much thought when she grabbed a small student in the water and swam towards the surface.

Well, he didn't think about her until she returned.

\---

Alexis shifted nervously on the bank. Her and Daphne had managed to slip onto the small platform where the Champions would bring their prizes. 

Alexis had figured out about ten minutes into the challenge that the prizes were in fact people and Daphne had been on the verge of panic ever since she'd been told that her little brother was stuck somewhere in the lake. 

One minute before the end of the hour, a head broke the surface of the lake and started swimming towards them. 

Astoria made sure Rory was pulled onto the bank first. 

Fleur shuffled towards her, a towel wrapped around her. 

"Is my sister alright?" she asked shakily. 

Astoria looked up from where she was sitting on the ground and nodded with a small smile. 

"Although," she added quietly. "I don't know what Potter's doing. I think he might be trying to grab more than one person."

"That's stupid," Daphne remarked, from where her arms were wrapped around Rory. "They'll be fished out after the challenge, won't they?"

"Does Potter know that? The egg was pretty ominous," Alexis asked.

Astoria froze. Then she stood up and pulled out her wand again.

"I've got to go back," she announced.

"What?" Daphne snapped.

"He's going to try and save them all."

"Let him," Daphne insisted.

Astoria scowled at her sister and then turned to Alexis.

"What did he use?" she asked.

"Gillyweed," Alexis muttered.

"So his time's running out?"

Alexis nodded. 

"I'm going back," Astoria said.

Before she could turn to the water, Alexis shot forward, hugging her fiercely. 

"Be careful."

Astoria grinned, "Always am."

She turned back to the water, casting a bubble head charm and dove back into the lake.

Not two minutes later, Krum emerged with Hermione and fifteen minutes after that, Potter and Astoria were back on the bank with Weasley and Gabrielle.

Alexis cheered enthusiastically as Harry and Astoria took first place.

The party that night was gonna be fun. 

\---

The next few months bled together for Alexis. She found that she didn’t have nearly as much free time as in previous years. Between studying and training with Astoria, she barely had enough time to read.

Time seemed to speed up as the Third Task approached. Alexis had exams and knew coming out of each one she would get higher marks than she ever had, but she barely had time to dwell on her marks before she threw herself into last minute revision or rushed off to her next exam. In fact, things only seemed to slow back down on the morning of the task. 

Astoria disappeared after breakfast to meet her parents and older siblings, who had all come down to watch the task. Whilst she caught up with them, Alexis completed her last exam with Professor Binns. 

Like the others, she came out of the exam feeling pretty confident she did well. She hadn't studied as hard for this exam as she had the others, but she figured that it didn’t really count since she definitely wouldn’t be continuing the subject.

Alexis walked into lunch to find Astoria and the rest of the Greengrasses already sat down. She plopped down across from Astoria, next to Rena, who flung an arm around her in greeting.

"There's the temptress that captured our sister," Chris snickered.

Astoria rolled her eyes. "Is that what that horrible woman's been saying? We haven't been reading any of her articles."

"It's fine, sweetie," Mrs Greengrass assured her and then turned her attention to Alexis. "We obviously don't believe a word that woman says."

"Plus," Rena added. "She only released one about you. She couldn't find out much about Alexis and no one would do an interview about you guys. She said you guys must've threatened people or something."

"I didn't have to," Alexis answered, twirling her wand. "They know what we're capable of."

Astoria snickered.

The divination and Arithmancy exams were all that was on that afternoon so Alexis got to spend it with the Greengrasses before the Third Task went underway. 

A few minutes before the Champions were called, Alexis allowed Astoria to pull her into a corner of the room. 

"Be careful," Alexis commanded. The whole day, she had felt a horrible sense of foreboding. 

In answer, Astoria leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. 

Something twinged in Alexis. Astoria didn’t answer. She pulled back and frowned.

"Promise me you'll come back," she said, looking her in the eye.

Astoria hesitated. "I'll try."

Alexis' frown deepened and a shard of icy worry stabbed through her gut.

Astoria pursed her lips

"Here," she said, brightening. 

Astoria unclipped her hairpin and bracelet. She thrust the bracelet into her girlfriend's hands.

"What?" Alexis asked, startled. "I can't take these."

Astoria smiled down gently, but didn't answer straight away.

"At the start of the year, you made a deal with me. If I got chosen, you would ace your exams. If you didn't, I would get to throw you into the lake. So far, you've kept your deal, haven't you?"

Alexis nodded, but her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

"I think it's time I made a deal. You keep these safe for me and I'll come back for them - for you. If I don't, you keep them."

"You'll come back," Alexis snapped, despite the sinking feeling in her stomach. 

Astoria kissed her on the forehead and tenderly clipped the hairpin into Alexis' green and sliver braided hair. "I will try my hardest. But, just in case, I wanted to tell you something."

Alexis waited, not bothering to scowl at the ridiculous implication that Astoria wouldn't come back. Of course she would. She was the most capable Champion there was.

"I don't want you to feel the need to say it back. But, I love you, Alexis. I think I have for a while now."

Alexis' mouth dropped open. 

"It's okay," Astoria assured her. "I know you're over a year younger. You don't need to say it."

Alexis shook her head. "No! I love you too. Of course I do. I was just shocked."

Astoria's face lit up. "I needed to say it now. Just in case."

There was another uncomfortable twist in Alexis' stomach but she ignored it, instead choosing to pull Astoria into a deep kiss.

They only pulled apart when the Champions were called.

"Give them hell," Alexis ordered, 

"I'll show them what Slytherin can do," Astoria replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know what's happening next chapter.


	7. The Spare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done two short chapters released at the same time because the separation just seemed more natural.

Alexis squeezed Daphne's hand and she fiddled with her glasses nervously. It had been over an hour. Most people had brought books or games to pass the time, but Alexis couldn’t bring herself to do anything but stare intently at the entrance to the maze. 

Her stomach hadn't stopped churning uncomfortably since the start of the task. 

Suddenly, there was a flash of light from just outside the maze. And then there was Potter, lying on the ground, the cup in his hand and a dark mass of robes with a mop of gold at the top. It wasn't moving. Fudge and Dumbledore quickly converged on him, obscuring the scene. But it was too late. Alexis stomach felt like it had dropped out of her body. 

Daphne was already standing up. Alexis hadn't realised she had jumped up too. Her body moved towards the people in the centre of the clearing without her consciously ordering it to. Before she could make it to the thing on the ground, Dumbledore intercepted her. His eyes met Alexis', as well as the Greengrasses', who were by her side.

"I'm sorry," was all he said. 

He moved to the side to reveal Astoria lying limply on the ground. Both Potter and the cup had been ushered to the side. 

"No!" cried Astoria's mother from just behind her. Both of the Greengrass parents rushed forward, the siblings close behind. Alexis stood there, staring at her girlfriend's unmoving body. She was frozen to the spot. 

As the first tear streaked down her cheek, she felt her world shatter.

\---

For the next few weeks, everything was just numb. The Gryffindors didn't celebrate, like they'd been prepared to do. No one did. The castle was subdued. The hallways were the quietest they had been since second year. The twins played fewer pranks, students didn't laugh as much and the Greengrasses spent most of the next month at home. The Slytherins didn't bother Harry. Not even Malfoy. 

In fact, the Slytherins didn't do much of anything. They just wandered the halls, occasionally murmuring to each other.

Mr and Mrs Greengrass refused to take the money. They even thanked him for getting Astoria's body back, which Harry hadn't expected at all. 

To say he was not looking forward to going home at the end of term feast was an understatement. The room was stagnant as Dumbledore stood up to speak. He mourned the loss of Astoria Greengrass and called for inter-wizard solidarity in the times ahead. Harry looked over to where he could see Alexis Tonks sitting with the Slytherins. She was staring at the table, with a hollow look in her eyes. Harry didn’t think she was even listening. 

And that's what this was. Hollow. Because nothing they could do would ever bring her back.

At the end of Dumbledore's speech, Ron surprised everyone in the room by standing up.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, I need to say something important."

Dumbledore stared at him for a moment, before nodding, clearly too dumfounded to do much else.

Ron took a deep breath before standing on his seat and looking across the room, right at the Slytherins.

"I didn't know Astoria Greengrass very well. I don't think many of us in Gryffindor did. But, I do know how she played in the Tournament . She always made sure everything in the tournament was fair and she helped Harry out, even when she didn't have to. She wanted to win. But she didn't want to do it by underhanded means. 

I think - I think it's important that everyone knows that she died being a true Hogwarts Champion. Because she could have abandoned Harry and instead stood with him and played honestly. And she died for it. And… Slytherin House should be proud - we should all be proud - because Astoria was a good person. She deserved to be Champion."

Ron's statement was met with awed silence and after about five seconds, he sat down awkwardly, face burning.

Before Dumbledore could take control back, Pansy Parkinson stood up.

"I want to tell Weasley thank you."

She sat right back down. Then, someone at the Slytherin table raised a glass. Slowly, everyone in the hall followed. And they drank - to Astoria, to Harry, to the Greengrasses, to who knows what - but they drank together. Years later, historians would say that that was the moment Voldemort truly started to lose. 

Dinner finished up soon after that and much of the school ambled into the Entrance Hall. Everyone seemed to move at a slower pace these days. As he got to the middle of it, Harry heard a loud bang right next to him that made him freeze, before he realised someone had just dropped their books.

He bent down to pick them up and handed them to a very drained looking Alexis. Her brown eyes seemed to have lightened under her glasses and her hair was flat and devoid of its usual bright dye, it was maybe even a few shades darker black than it was before.

She took the books back and was about to turn away, but Harry knew he couldn’t let her. He'd been avoiding her and anyone connected to Astoria ever since the Third Task, but he had to say something. Anything.

"You should know," he begun, "that she wanted to win for you. She won and she did it for you."

And then he gave her a brief but tight hug. She stood frozen when he released her. It was then that he noticed the space everyone had cleared around them. Everything was still.

Then, Hermione stepped up and all eyes were on her. She stood in front of Alexis and looked her in the eye.

"We are never going to forget this," she said. "They're not going to get away with it."

Suddenly, Tonks was moving. She was latching onto Hermione's arm and pulling her closer. Everyone had their wands out, ready for a fight. Harry was convinced Hermione was about to be attacked. But Alexis didn’t do anything.

She just stared straight into Hermione's eyes and demanded, "Do you promise me?"

Hermione met her fierce, intense gaze unflinchingly and gave one, firm nod. "I promise."

Then, Alexis collapsed into her arms, sobbing.

\---

The Slytherins were gathered in the Common Room, each with a drink in their hands. All of Astoria's friends were saying something about her. Daphne stood beside Alexis, leaning heavily on her arm. She wasn't crying. She'd told Alexis earlier that didn’t think she could ever produce tears again. 

Alexis was the last one to go. All she could muster was, "Astoria was indescribably brilliant."

Everyone nodded to that and threw back their drinks.

"Granger was right, you know," Alexis muttered, once the cups were empty. The whole room froze. 

Daphne nodded. "We will never forget this. We need to do something."

"What?" Draco asked, his voice shaking a bit.

Alexis shrugged. "Anything. Astoria was one of us. She was a pureblood, like many of you. But that didn't matter. All she was to him was a spare. That's what Voldemort said. So, how much does it really matter to him? Does he fight for purity or for terror?"

People visibly shuddered at the name, but more looked thoughtful at the last statement.

Daphne jumped in after her. "My sister did not die because of some stupid game, like the Ministry is trying to say. She was smarter than that. She was stronger than that. She was a Slytherin."

There were some cheers at that. One person in the crowd called out 'One of the best!'

It was Alexis' turn again. "Damn right she was one of the best Slytherins. She was ambitious and cunning, but also brave and fair and she wasn't afraid to do what was right. Now, it's our chance to follow her example. To show that we matter. That we're not just some blind soldiers that can be thrown into our parents' wars."

Pansy stepped forward, her hands fiddling nervously, but there was a defiant gleam in her eyes.

"What do you want us to do?"

Alexis glanced around. "I know not all of your parents were Death Eaters. But I also know that a lot of them were, and will definitely answer the call. There's no point in denying it any longer, like most of you have been."

At that, there were reluctant nods around the room.

"So, don’t deny it. Instead of looking the other way, snoop. Do what us Slytherins do best. Be cunning. Look for anything that might help against the person who did this to us."

Some of the students nodded, a couple were grinning mischievously, but more were glancing around nervously.

"I don't expect you all to do anything. I know many of you won't. But you should. Because we're not just pawns that follow whoever we're told to. We're not spares."

Astoria's best friend, Rohan, nodded at this. His parents had been fanatics before the war. His father and mother still liked to talk about 'stamping out mudbloods' whenever they got their friends over. 

"For Astoria," he announced firmly.

"For Astoria!" echoed around the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's the end of 4th year. How'd you like it?


End file.
